They say it’s tough at the top, but the only people complaining at the top at Tattersalls on Tuesday were those bidding against Godolphin, as Sheikh Mohammed’s operation refused to be denied on the first five yearlings to reach the million mark.

Norelands Stud certainly won’t be complaining, as the McCalmont family’s Co Kilkenny farm sold the highest-priced yearling colt ever sold in Europe, bringing a final bid of 4,800,000gns from a determined Godolphin.

By sire sensation Night Of Thunder and out of Pretty Polly Stakes runner-up My Astra, the chesnut was sold on behalf of the Tsui family’s Sunderland Holdings, who made a bold bid to retain their colt through Suzanne Roberts.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done this. Fantastic,” Norelands manager Matt Gilsenan reacted. “We’re delighted to have horses for Mrs Tsui. Mrs Tsui loved him and would have been happy to keep him at a level, too.

“He’s an absolute superstar colt, by a magnificent stallion, out of a mare that’s done it as well. It’s a great team effort by everyone at home; there are guys at home not even here.”

Hamish McCalmont added: “Ever since he was a foal, he’s been the most amazing horse. As Matt said, it’s thanks to Mrs Tsui and the team at home. It’s amazingly special.”

Mad world

Gilsenan recognised the surreal nature of moments like this, preceded by a stressful time until you discover your fate. “It’s a mad world. It’s a long week, it’s tough. Everyone says you’re going great, but it’s still nil nil, you haven’t scored and all of a sudden, you score.

“It’s nerve-wracking. These big horses are hard to find and there aren’t too many people at that high level. Everyone has to play and sometimes it doesn’t happen. We thought he might make three [million], but anything over two million is a lot of money for a four-legged animal.”

By the end of the day, Godolphin had accrued 11 yearlings totalling 15,730,000gns, making them a wide-margin leader in the buyers’ table, with Blandford Bloodstock next with an outlay of 3,860,000gns.

Godolphin’s spend accounted for a third of Tuesday’s turnover of 46,778,000gns, which itself represented a 16% increase from last year’s corresponding session. In fact, all figures grew significantly, though that hadn’t appeared likely at an early stage, when many vendors were kept busy and felt friendless.

Godolphin’s first seven-figure purchase heralded a change in fortune and by the end of the day, six yearlings had reached the million mark, matching last year’s opening session. The average price rose by 26% to 406,765gns, while the median grew by 14% to 240,000gns and the clearance rate improved six points to a healthy 85%.

The Night Of Thunder colt robbed the title of highest-priced yearling in the world this year from Croom House Stud’s colt by the late Wootton Bassett, who brought 3,800,000gns from Godolphin.

Sheikh Mohammed’s operation saw off the attentions of the Coolmore team, also bidding from outside the ring, for the striking colt, who was bred out of Denis Brosnan’s homebred listed winner and Group 3 performer Loch Lein.

Two years on from securing the colt’s Frankel half-brother for 2,000,000gns, Anthony Stroud commented: “He was an outstanding horse with a brilliant pedigree. Wootton Bassetts are a prized possession, and all our team loved him. Croom do an excellent job and have bred many, many good horses.”

On what is also the second highest-priced yearling colt ever sold at Tattersalls, Stroud continued: “Of course, it’s a lot of money but these types of horses, that’s what they cost and are what all breeders are striving to produce. Let’s hope he’s a very good racehorse.”

Strong from the start

Godolphin stated their intentions early in the day when giving 1,800,000gns for Hillwood Stud’s Frankel colt, who is the first foal out of 2,500,000gns buy Get Ahead, herself a listed-winning and Group 1-placed half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Chaldean (Frankel).

Juddmonte and Charlie Bond made bold bids for the chesnut, but Amo Racing eventually filled the role of underbidder, as they did with Mountarmstrong’s later offering that fetched 2,600,000gns. Despite Kia Joorabchian’s strong play for some of the choicest lots, his four purchases on Tuesday (one of which was bought with Robson Aguiar and another with Valmont) were much lower profile, the quartet costing a total of 880,000gns.

On the Frankel colt, Hillwood’s Charlie Vigors reported: “He’s always been a very, very special colt. We bought the mare for a lot of money and to get a first foal like that is the stuff of dreams.”

On the decision to send the daughter of Showcasing to Frankel, he commented: “It was the obvious thing to do, with Chaldean where he was on the page and we’ve seen in the ring what the Frankels have been making, and that's probably in the ballpark of what you'd expect really.

“Massive thanks to Sheikh Mohammed, David [Loder], Anthony Stroud and the whole Godolphin team, and obviously the underbidders as well, of which there were plenty. This colt been very busy all week and he's shown fantastically all week and never put a foot wrong. I am just so delighted for all the team. It is a great way to get the week going.”

On whether Tuesday’s result takes the pressure off for the rest of the week Vigors replied: “Well, there's plenty more still to sell, and it is a bit like training horses - the good horses almost take care of themselves. There are plenty more to sell and lots of hard work still to be done.”

Godolphin’s commitment

On Godolphin’s first major investment of the day, Anthony Stroud said: “I thought he was a beautiful colt, our principal really liked him. Showcasing is a good broodmare sire and Frankel; he is what he is - a fantastic stallion. He was just a great mover and a very, very nice horse.”

While some big spenders come and go, whether quietly or with a bang, Godolphin has remained a steadfast presence at the sales, as have Coolmore, which Stroud acknowledged after commending Sheikh Mohammed’s presence at Park Paddocks.

“It shows the commitment of two great men, in John Magnier and Sheikh Mohammed, who since the 1980’s have been involved in this whole industry and supported it in every different area; not only breeding and having farms but being active at the sales and on the racecourse. I think it’s just extraordinary, really. We’ve got a lot to thank them for.”

Trevor Stewart had reason to thank Sheikh Mohammed shortly after, when Godolphin gave 1,100,000gns for his Blue Point filly offered by Ballyhimikin Stud. The highest-priced filly of the day so far hails from a family that has provided Stewart with many memorable days, as she is a granddaughter of his King’s Stand Stakes winner Cassandra Go, who has gone on to be even better at stud than she was on the track.

She has produced three group winners, each of them Group 1 producers themselves, including three-time Group 1 winner Halfway To Heaven, also known as the dam of the top-class Magical and Rhododendron, herself the dam of Auguste Rodin.

Reflecting on her latest descendant’s sale, Trevor Stewart commented: “Cassandra Go had a few who made a million, every daughter has had a million yearling, and I hate to say this, but she has an even nicer City Of Troy filly foal and we’ll certainly not be selling it, so it’s very exciting.”

Despite the rewards Stewart has reaped in the ring, he finds it difficult to let his homebreds go and revealed that of Cassandra Go’s four young relations on the ground at home, three will be kept to race, if not all four.

“I keep saying after I sell something like this, that there’ll be no more [fillies] released, but financially, sometimes you have to. They’re so precious, it’s been such a lucky family,” he added.

Mountarmstrong Stud’s Wootton Bassett filly out of the O’Callaghan family’s Matron Stakes heroine No Speak Alexander earned the title of the highest-priced filly of the day after Blandford Bloodstock’s Richard Brown saw off a host of rivals with a bid of 2,600,000gns.

Newtown Anner Stud’s PJ Colville and Charlie Gordon Watson, joined by the Watership Down Stud team, held leading chances of landing the blueblood until Brown joined the party, sitting at the top of the stairs.

A mystery bidder signalled from the backstairs, while Kia Joorabchian made a last-minute play, but Brown refused to be denied. The agent may have been driven by missing out of the filly’s half-sister Silent Beauty, who won a listed and Group 3 sprint since the catalogue was printed.

“I think she was an outstanding physical specimen, by what has been one of the great sires of recent times and out of an absolutely outstanding race mare,” he said.

“The filly last year [Silent Beauty] has gone on and won two stakes races, and I was underbidder on her. Arguably, I thought this filly had more size, scope and strength than her. She is a rare specimen; it is rare to see a filly like her. She is one of the best fillies I have seen this week and probably for a long time, I think she is outstanding.

“You never expect them to make that much, but they're rare commodities. Hopefully, she can repay us on the racecourse. She's staying in the UK, and no trainer has been selected yet. She is from a wonderful farm and wonderful family. The whole thing just works.”

Paul and Charles O’Callaghan were visibly thrilled by the result, with the latter commenting: “We thought she was a queen of a filly but when you’re at that level, it’s hard to know how much they’ll make, so we’re absolutely chuffed. She’s gone to a good home; hopefully she can run.”

On his emotions watching her sell, O’Callaghan commented: “The heart’s still going! You always get nervous beforehand. It’s been a long journey; Matt Coleman bought the granddam for us here back in 2015. We’ve been on a good journey since with the dam and here again.

“Hopefully this filly can go on and be successful on the track like her sister. We’d be very disappointed and surprised if she’s not a racehorse, we really think she’s a queen.”

While the bloodstock and racing games can be testing and tumultuous, horses also have a tremendous way of lifting us up, which is what came to mind when Yeomanstown Stud’s Ghaiyyath colt brought 1,300,000gns from Godolphin.

David, Gay and Rob O’Callaghan may generally be considered ‘all business’ but it’s safe to say that their late matriarch Annette, who passed away last month, will have been to the fore of their minds when they watched their €200,000 pinhook escalate in value.

It may come as a surprise to some that Tuesday marked a first seven-figure sale for the Co Kildare farm, with David O’Callaghan saying: “Absolutely amazing. We've come close, but we never actually broke the million, so it's fantastic.

“He was an exceptional foal and he’s ended up being an exceptional yearling. €200,000 at the time maybe seemed a lot but he was the best foal we thought in Goffs last year and we were delighted to come away with him. Plenty of people said he was the best horse here too.

“Thank you to Sheikh Mohammed and his team. He’s a huge supporter of the industry and we’re lucky to have him.”

Yeomanstown’s first millionaire is also the highest-priced yearling from four crops by Ghaiyyath, whose 2025 foals commanded an average of €200,000 after the Kildangan Stud resident sired his first Group 1 winner in Australia.

Opera Ballo has doubled Ghaiyyath’s Group 1 tally since, with his number of stakes winners and group performers also at a career-best this year.